This is a fanfic I am working on. I do not have spell check on the program I am using. Let me know what you think.

Chapter one

Shala took one last look at the cave that had been her home for the last 1/2 turn. Ever since the father failed to return from the fishing trip. They had perpared the cave just incase that happened. Good things did not happen to other children whose parent had died & been sent to the keep. Children were forced to wait hand & foot on the lord & masters, no better than drudges. Given very little to eat, & a scrap of fur to sleep on. Those were the luck ones. The pretty girls.... well what they were forced to do was something best not hought about. Anyone who complained or tried to recue one of the kids were cought by the lord's hunters. There had been a couple that had been tied out during thread fall & thier children taken to the keep. Any who opposed the lord or master were locked up & were forced in to being drudges. If they suvivied been taken to the keep by the hunters. Everone knew it was safer to give the lords & masters what they wanted. Half of all food raised or cought. Plus be given the best items that were made. No one got so much as a new mug without the lords getting one first. Oh, yes the lord & masters had not suffered one bit for being shunned.
She knew her father had done something terrible that got him sent to the island, yet she still missed him as she did her Mother, who had choosen to come with her Father. She had died giving birth to her baby brother, who had died the next day. Shala had been 10 when har Mother died & now at 14 she had lost both parents.
The cave was on the far end of the island that her father & the other men had been shunned to. Her father & her had work hard to make sure that it was well supplyed, sneeking supplies in at night, When no one would see them. They had made it homey whith quilts that her mother had made from cast of clothes. Shala had carved the bowls, & cups while her father had made a table & chair.
Shala had been seen by a fisherman & knew that it was only a matter of time before the hunter were sent. She had prepared for this day. Shala stood thinking back. There had been a very bad storm & Shala had gone to the beach to look for some drift would. She had found a shipfish stranded too close to the shore. Shala went out & discovered that the shipfish had a gash in its side. She had been suprised when it talked to her & ased for help. She had gone to the cave & gotten her aid kit & with the shipfish's directions & a great deal of trepadation had sewed the wound together. The shipfish then informed that his name was Kibbon & he was NOT a fish at all, but, a dolphin, Shala helped Kibbon out to were he could swim freely. Kibbon told Shala that he would come back the next sun.
Shala stood thinking back on what a great friend she had found in Kibbon. Kibbon had visited with her everyday that he could. He is the one that is making it possibble for her to ecape. Without him to pull her raft to safty she would never have to courage to try.
Shala had kept track of when thread fell & knew that thread was not due for another 3 days. With Kibbon's help she could make the main land by then.
"Enough Whool gathering" She said to herself. Kibbon must be waiting by now.
She took one last look at her cave & with her carrysack thrown over one sholder & her sleeping furs in her hands head for the beach & a new life.

Chapter 2

Shala was right Kibbon was waiting for her. She quickly wend to were her small boat, a raft realy, was hidden. She pushed it out in to the waves & jumped on, & paddled out to were Kibbon was waiting. All her supplies had been loaded yesterday. Kibbon squeeled his delight at seeing her as he grabbes a rope that was trailing in the water. It was no quite dawn. Shala wanted to leave before there were any fishermen out to see her. With Kibbon's help she could be long gone before they out.

The dawn saw them miles away from the island. Kibbon let the little boat go with the tied & went fishing. He came back & threw a large pactail on to the boat. Shala very carefully gutted & skined it before baking it on the rock platform that she had made so she could build a fire safely. She had a nice breakfast of baked fish & fruit. She would save the meat rolls for latter.

As it latter it got hotter so Shala took one of her quilts & made a shelter & laid down for a nap. Kibbon had promised to keep a look out for any trouble while she napped. She was much refreshed when she woke.

"Come swim with me?" Kibbon Asked

Fearless only because Shala knew that Kibbon near Shala dived into the water. The coldness of the water felf good after the heat of the afternoon. Her & Kibbon played like children. Diving down as far as Shala could then racing to the suface again. When Shala got tired she lay on her back & floated for a while. It was only when she was turning blue with cold that she climbed back into the boat. She could not remember when she had been alowed to have so much fun. On the island there was only work.

"Thank you, Kibbon" Shala said

"For what?"

"For being my friend"

"I am happy we are friends" Kibbon squeeked happily.

Shala started a fire while Kibbon fished. He brought back a large brown fish that had yellow strips, a kind she was not familer with. Shala cut up some roots wrapped it all in some seaweed & let it cook while she watched the sunset. It had been a good first day.

The wind woke her the next morring. It was blowing very hard & the waves were getting bigger. Kibbon squeed good morning without letting go of the trailing rope.
Shala barely had time to double check that everything was tied down before the storm hit in full force. Shala quickly put on her floating vest & tied herself to the boat. Kibbon pulled the boat so that it could ride the waves, but, waves still crashed over the boat. The boat started to take on water. Shala found her bucket & started bailing. She kept bailing even tho her back hurt, her arms hurt & she was getting colder. Soon all she could think of was bend scoop, dump, bend scoop dump. Over & over again. The storm lasted for several hours. All Shala was able to do when the storm blew itself out was check to make sure Kibbon was alright before collasping on her soggy fur.
Shala woke up to find the sun shinning & a wet fish flopping around on top of her.
"Are you awake yet" Kibbon Squeeled
"I am now, thanks"
"Welcome"
"Did we blow off course" Shala asked
"A little. I will put you back on course, this is fun with you here"
"For you maybe, for me not so much"
Shala checked her supplies & discover that except for everything being soaked it was all fine. She set about laying out her furs & firewood to dry.

She was thankful that her father had tought her how to build a strong boat with the few supplies they had. It had taken her the better part of 3 7 days to build this one. She had carefully cut the logs into 8 foot long sections & tied together with vines. Next she built up the sides & front. by stacking them & using mud to hold the together. Once the mud was dry she spread some black tar from the pool of it her father had found. When dried it made a water tight seal. Some of the logs she had placed so that it would come out in a point for the front of the little boat. She had built up the front a little higher than the sided so that she could lay furs over it & giver her a shaddy spot to get away from the sun. While the tar had been drying she had weaved grasses together to make baskets which she also tared. She made some water containers out of some gords that she had found on the island. Once the top had been cut off & the insides scooped out (& eaten) all that had been left to do was to whittle some stoppers.
The shunned had been useing boats like these for years & they worked well as long as you did not go to far out into the ocean. Shala hoped with Kibbon's help hers would make it to the island. So far the boat was holding up. Shala did not know how many more storms the boat could take. She hoped that they would make the mainland before thread fell again. The thought of threadfall sent shivers down her spine. The thought of facing silent grey strand of killer rain that ate everything in its path while on the open water was something best not thought of.

It was earlyevening before her wood got dried out enough to start a fire. Once she had the fire going her furs dried out quickly. They were salt encrust but at least they were dry. Shala took her clothes off & laid them beside the fire to dry as well. By night fall she was able to put her tunic & breaches back on. It was then that she asked Kibbon excactly how far they had been blown.

"It will take an extra sun to reach land" Kibbon replied to question."If there are no more blows"

" I am not sure how many storms this boat can take" Shala said

"No worry I will keep you safe"

"I am glad you are so sure of yourself, I just wich I could be as sure as you are."

" I can swim with the boat on my back if need be. I can also call for help. Other dolphins will come if I call" Kibbon informed her.

"NO! I do not want anyone on the mainland to know I come from the shunned Island. They might send me back. I know Father said that I would be safe on the mainland, but I am just not sure. Please do not call for help. I do not want to take the chance on being sent back" Shala cried.

"Other will not tell if I ask them not too, I no call if you tell me no"

Shala saw a large shadow on the water & looked up to see a large dragon flying high abouve the water. It was beautiful to see. Shala had only seen one dragon fly over the island in her life. Her father said that was because the shunned had given up the right for protection from the dragoncons. He never would tell Shala what he had done to be sent to the island only that the punishmen was approprite. He had always told her that the dragocon riders were good men who risked thier lives protecting Pern from thread. They could only talk about the rider late at night when there was no chance of being over heard. talking about dragons & thier riders would mean being tied out during threadfall.

The third day dawn to a butiful blue cloudless sky. Shala started her morning fire & put a tubber on to bake. While it was baking she went swimming with Kibbon. The afternoon was spent in trying to stay cool & not drinking too much of her water. It was Kibbon's squeel that alerted her to the grey cloud. At first she thought it was a storm. Then she noticed the grey mist.Her heart stopped for a second. There was only one thing it could be. THREAD! She took a deep breath to calm herself, before jumping in to the water. She knew that thread would drown. What she did not know was how she was going to stay underwater until it passed.

"Hold on" Kibbon sqeeled.

Shala took hold of Kibbon's dorsel fin as he dived down. she figured she could hold her breat for 2 minets at a time. Maybe she could get a breath before thread got her. She signaled for kibbon to rise to the surface. She felt a hot trail on her arm in the second it took her to breath. Kibbon dived again. The second time she came up she luck out no burning. She could not keep it up for long. The third time she was scored again, on the top of her head this time. Suddenly there were little jets of flame abouve her. Some fire lizards had come to her rescue. Where had they come from. It was then that she noticed a ship heading her way. It took several very long minutes for it to get to her.

"Hurry" Shouted on of the crew members as a ladder was lowered to her.

Shala scrambles up the ladder as fast as she could while the valiant fire lizards kept her safe.

Chapter 3
The seaman grabbed her & hauled her to the wheel house.

"Shells girl what were you doing" a different man yelled

Shala could not talk. She was shanking & crying. The sailor looked at her & shook his head.

"I sorry for yelling, but you gave us a fright. Luckily the fire lizards saw you or you'd be thread food for sure" He continued " I am captain sigmon. This thread won't last long. It is only an outer edge, have a seat"
When he touched her arm to guide her to the chair she yelled out in pain.
The captain looked at her arm & saw were she had been scored. He grabbed a small pot of numb weed.

" I always keep a small pot of this stuff on hand, you can never tell when it comes in handy. Good thing too, This wheel house is covered in metal, But I would hate to have to run to the hold to get you some." He pointed at the man who had led Shala to the wheel house "This is Zane, he is the first mate. Once this blasted thread is over we'll get you some help. Are you scored anywere else"

Shala pointed to her head & the captain gently rubbed some numb weed on that score as well. The relief of pain was almost overwhelming. Shala was unsure what to say so she stayed quite. After a few minutes she was able to get herself together & stopped crying & shaking. The captain gave her a mug of khal wich helped a lot. She looked out the wheel house window & could see that thin sheets of metal covered the sails & deck. There were also flights of fire lizards protecting the ship as well. Shala hoped the captain was right & thread would not last long.
She was worried about Kibbon. Thread ended an hour latter. As soon as it was safe Shala ran to the deck to look for Kibbon. She could not see him any were. Were did dolphins go during thread. She knew that they could hold thier breathes for long pirods of time, but, not that long. Could he have swam past the leading edge? Were was he. The captain came out & stood beside her.

"You really should get below deck & lay down, you had a bad scare."

"I need to make sure he is safe"

"He who?"

"Kibbon, my dolphin friend. He was pulling my boat to the main land when thread hit" Shala answered her eyes never leaving the water.

Just then they heard a squeel

"Shala, you fine, I fine" Kibbon walked on his fluke looking up at her.

Shala alowed herself to be led down stairs by Zane. He showed her to a bunk & told her that know one would bother her for a while & to sleep herself out. Shala could hear the fishermen casting net into the water. She listened to them for a few minutes before falling asleep.

She was woken up by Zane.

"I'm sorry to wake you, but, you are wanted on deck"

Shala reliezed that her arm & head hurt A LOT as she got up. The numb weed must have worn off. Shala carefuly got up & followed Zane on to the deck. When she got on deck she saw that there was a large brown dragon floating next to the boat. She started shaking. She had no idea what a dragon was doing here. I wouldn't send her back would he? Dragons were too important to waist having one come out on her account.

Captain Sigmon and a man walked over to her.

"This is w'lan he is Darth's rider, we sent a fire lizard to the weyr to ase for help for you, it will be many a day before we see land"

"The captain tells me you he found you during thread fall on your own out here. I would like for you to come with me back to Southern weyr" W'lan explained "We have a healer that can take a look at those scores"

"I am not sure, will some one tell Kibbon were I have gone?"

"Kibbon, oh yes the dolphin you were telling me about Captain, I am sure we can get a hessage to him. There is a pod at Southern that can send a message." W'lan told her.

W'lan informed her that it was not very far to the weyr so they would be flying straight, rather than going between. A ladder was lowered & Darth swam so that the ladder was directly over his neck ridge. W'lan gently guided Shala to the spot directly behind him and strapped her in. Darth swam far enough away from the boat that his wings would not interfer with the boat before slowly flapping his wings and raising into the air. He flew in circles until he was high up then with flaps of his great wing set off for the weyr.
When Shala looked down the ship was not bigger than a speck. the water was so calm that it looked like a huge looking glass. It was all so beautiful.
She could see the land that at first was a speck slowly getting bigger. Now she could see the trees & mountains. It would have been fun if not for thr fact that the rushing winds was making her scores hurt even more. She hoped that they would land soon. As they started flying over the land she could see a clearing with other dragons sunning them selves. Darth started was flying toward the clearing. He landed with a slight bump.
Darth held on leg up so W'lan could step on it as he held his hand up to help Shala down. Shala could not suppress the yelp that came out as he grabbed her are.

w'lan looked at "I am sorry, did I hurt you"

"No, it is not bad." She lied.

He took her arm and turned it so he could see it. "That is worse than I thought it was"

Just then a woman ran up to them

"W'lan you should be ashamed of your self, talking the poor girl instead of taking her inside. We need to get that cleaned up & numbweed put on it. I do not suppose they gave you any numb weed did they?"

"The cave was on the far end of the island that her father & the other men had been shunned to. Her father & her had work hard to make sure that it was well supplyed, sneeking supplies in at night, When no one would see them. They had made it homey whith quilts that her mother had made from cast of clothes. Shala had carved the bowls, & cups while her father had made a table & chair."
New here and reading the old posts and chapters to know about McCaffery, now in this paragraph "homey whith quilts" what does whith mean?

This has got potential, Mawra, but needs heaps of proofreading. Did it ever go anywhere?
I assume you mean - worked hard, well supplied, sneaking supplies, and homey with quilts (patchwork?) in the paragraph above. You could have cured animal skins on the floor too.

And it could round off quite neatly with a sentence or two about making Shala feel safe in her new place.

There's always been those. I married one, though he was legal by the time he reached New Zealand. There's no way of knowing now, because both my in-laws are dead, but I'll swear my father-in-law paid people-smugglers to get his son out of Communist rule.